Falling hard for you
by Maxsprincess
Summary: Zax one shot that follows on from Sunday's episode. Just fluff but it's vulnerable Zoe and lovely Max so what's not to love.


"I can't believe you quit. What about all that beautiful admin?" Max slouched against the wall as Zoe rummaged through her bag to find her keys, the cigarette they were sharing hanging from her mouth.

"They can stuff their admin." She pulled out the keys triumphantly, handing the cigarette to Max. "And they can stuff their politics." Grinning, she led the way through to the living room, collapsing with a sigh onto the sofa. Max hovered at the door, unsure how to react to this new, devil-may-care Zoe and she looked up at him, raising an eyebrow. "Wine, Mary Jane." Rolling his eyes, Max meandered through to the kitchen, chuckling to himself as he opened the fridge to find a full wine rack and a bar of chocolate. Pouring them each a glass, he mulled over the events of the day. He had seen more of Zoe in two hours than he had in two months and something told him he still didn't know everything, that there were still barriers. He wanted to have a chance, to prove himself, to get to know her demons, her dreams, but every time he looked at her there was this wall stopping him. Taking a minute to compose himself, he picked up the bottle in his free hand and went to join Zoe in the living room. When he got there however, he found her with her head in her hands, her entire frame racked with sobs. Hastily setting the drinks down, he sat down next to her and pulled her into a hug, pressing his lips to her head.

"Shhh, come on." He rocked her gently until the sobs subsided, her breathing jagged but under control. "It's okay. It's okay." He whispered into her hair, his fingers tracing the bumps of her spine.

"God Max. I promised her. I promised her she wouldn't die and now-" Zoe's nails dug into his back as she clung on for dear life, all the emotion she'd pent up suddenly released like a ton of bricks.

"Where's my Spider-Man gone?" He gently disentangled himself, resting his hands on her shoulders. "Connie said you had no way of telling how serious her injuries were when you were in there. So don't you dare blame yourself." He spoke with a maturity older than his years and Zoe looked up at him, eyes wide and trustful.

"But Max, the ED-"

"Is in safe hands." He smiled at her. "And you can go back to being a doctor. Right?" Zoe nodded, giving a watery smile in return.

"Right." She bit her lip, and Max knew the moment would stay with him forever, because when people asked him at what point did he fall in love with her, this is what he would tell people. Zoe at her most vulnerable, her most beautiful, her most perfect. He cupped her face, kissing her softly and pushing her back onto the sofa, unzipping her dress so, so slowly. He pulled back slightly to look at her - she was still crying and she looked so fragile he almost stopped for fear of breaking her.

"God you are beautiful." He had never meant anything more in his life, and it took every fibre in his body to stop him telling her he loved her. He didn't want to push her, didn't want to risk losing her twice in one day and he was so unbelievably scared that's what would happen if he said it.

"Max, please." She looped her legs around his hips, dragging him down until their lips were almost touching. "Say it." She breathed, her eyes shut and her chest heaving. "Say it." He hesitated for what seemed like an eternity and for a horrible moment she thought she'd misjudged the situation, fallen so hard only to be disappointed again.

"I love you." His voice was no more than a whisper, and she kept her eyes closed, almost not daring to believe it. "I love you, Zoe Hanna." He grinned down at her as she tentatively opened her eyes, a smile spreading across her face.

"I love you too." The surprise on her face was mirrored by his, the pair slightly stunned by their own declarations. It was Zoe who acted first, yanking Max's top off over his head and pulling him so close to her it was difficult to tell which limbs belonged to whom. "Say it again Max." She gasped as he bit her collarbone before salving the bruise with his tongue.

"I love you. I love you. I love you." He punctuated each phrase with another bite, tracing a line down her ribs and onto her stomach. She pulled him back up so they were level, frantically removing any remaining clothing and letting his whispers of adoration wash over her as they joined.

"Maybe I should go all gung-ho more often." Zoe mused as she lent over to light Max's cigarette.

"Maybe. Or maybe we could just pretend you've gone gung-ho and still have the amazing sex, just without the whole life threatening danger thing." He grinned, taking a long drag before kissing her again, tendrils of smoke curling around them. He knew there were still barriers. But for the first time in his life, he didn't care. He didn't care that he didn't know everything, didn't care that he would have to wait until she was ready. Because for the first time in his life, he was totally, completely in love.

**So firstly I am sorry for the cheese fest ending...I really struggled with finishing this one, but I had to write something because of the absolute cuteness of Sunday's episode! R&R would be lovely people x**


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